Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (18.2006(2008))

BANGANARTI

SUDAN

LOWER CHURCH - TRIAL PIT 1

The foundation level of the Lower Church
contained an abundant set of tableware
forms from the Early Christian period
(6th/7th century) and a layer 0.50 m thick,
composed of nothing but intentionally
broken amphorae, originally used for
transporting and storing wine. The body
sherds of the containers featured yellow-
painted monograms, suggesting that their
content may have been of liturgical
significance. Typologically, these storage
vessels resemble a type known from Old
Dongola, found in the monastery on
Kom H and the palace complex on Kom A,
as well as in the kilns on Site R1 (type A),
where these vessels were dated securely in
the 6th through 7th century AD (Pluskota
2001: 362-363, Fig. 9; Bagihska 2005:
476-480, type 107). Amphorae of this kind
held about 12 liters of local wine. The
Banganarti assemblage [Pigs 4:a-d; 3:c, f\ is
evidently representative of Dongolan
products (as indicated by the clay, form and
characteristic handle and neck shape), which
imitated amphorae. imported from Aswan,
Gempeler form K 722, dated there to the
second half of the 5 th century through the
turn of the 6th/7th century AD (Gempeler
1992: 192, PI. 124/2).
The Early Christian wheel-made wares
included a small white-ware bowl with ap-
plique decoration [Figs 1 :a; 3:b\ imitating
Late Roman terra sigillata models.
A plate with ledge rim (red ware) fea-
tured an ornament of black (double arches
painted on a white strip [Fig. lie}, the type
being a Dongolan copy of Gempeler form
T 353b from Aswan (1992: 104, PI. 46/5,

7, 9) and Hayes' terra sigillata form 95
(1972: 149, Fig. 27/3). Plates with painted
decoration have been recorded at Old
Dongola (R1 kiln site, cf. Pluskota 2001:
357-365, Figs 6-7) and at the monastery in
Ghazali (Shinnie, Chittick 1961: 36, 53,
Figs 6/A1-A7, 22B/14, 19).
White-ware plate with ledge rim
[Fig. l:f\ with stamped decoration on the
rim corresponds again to Fate Roman terra
sigillata types.
Relief-decorated vases (both white and
red wares) are typical of the Early Christian
period [Fig. l:g, j\. A thin-walled vase (red
ware) with black circumferential lines
painted on a white background [Fig. l:d} is
a form known from northern Nubia:
Adams' style N III (1986: 481-482,
Figs 45/28, 163).
Wheel-made bottle (red ware) with
profiled rim [Figs l:c; 2:a] is a north
Nubian tradition typical of style N III
(Adams 1986: 481-482, Fig. 82/33).
Among the handmade vessels, bottles
commonly referred to by archaeologists as
“beer jars” [Fig. l:b~\ are abundant in the
Lower Church foundation deposit. The
form is a survival from post-Meroitic into
Early Christian times. It occurs on all sites
from the corresponding period: the
monastery church on Kom H in Old
Dongola (Bagihska forthcoming a), fort in
Dar el-Arab (Bagihska forthcoming b),
settlement on Boni Island in the Fourth
Cataract region (B. Petrick, pers. comm.).
W.Y. Adams points out the close cor-
respondence with Aiwa Ware (H2) bottle
types (1986: 423-424, Fig. 250/36w).

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